The above fiber from Sheepish Creations + a wee bit of tencel and silk for added shine in a few areas + 6 hours = About 3oz and 18" of alien landscape That is one lonely looking alien, so I think I will have to add a friend or two .
This was one of my goals today....Unpack my felted items from the bag I was keeping them in and get them organized for when I have better lighting for taking photos .
This is one of those "as seen on TV" things that you can use to store your shoes under the bed . It doesn't have a stiff structure , so I cut up some old box's and fit them into the bottoms and sides . This may not be the perfect solution, but it will keep items from getting dusty and I hope will be easier to find an item if I actually get them listed and sold .....(some day soon ). It should also work well for transporting and setting up if I ever get brave enough to do craft shows....(eternal optimist here ) . I plan on putting a card in each slot with the name, price and description of the items for when I get ready for listing on Etsy . I really hate this whole process but I have to break each step down to get any thing done or I become paralyzed and over whelmed .
I also baked brownies, made speg sauce, showered, found Tiny Url.com, and am getting ready to take the air conditioner out of the window before our pipes freeze . I know my mom could have done all this in an hour but it is about all I can manage in a day . Then again, my mother didn't have the inter-net to distract her nor did she succumb to the siren call of the fiber mermaid . (see below)
I just ordered this lovely fiber from an Etsy seller called Sheepish Creations two days ago and it arrived already ! This is a new seller for me...http://tiny.cc/here267 <---click that to check out her shop : ) and I am very happy with my order .
The fiber looks and feels soft and fluffy, would be a treat to spin, but I'll be putting this under the needle . I think I have done enough boring stuff for one day and deserve a bit of needle time ...the sirens song is so sweet and I have nothing to plug my ears . (literary reference...to pretentious ?)
She also sent me a cute wee sheep to keep me company while I felt . Thanks Pam ! and I haven't weighed it but these bundles sure seem like more then 4 Oz each . Off to needle .
I have been meaning to check this out for the longest time . I thought if I put it here it would make finding it again a bit easier .....(my brain is a wee bit broken and I need all the help I can get to remember things .) So for the 1% of others who have not yet heard of this...here is the place you can go to shorten those cumbersome urls .
I don't actually like to sew but I do love weird fabrics to play with and this is some interesting netting and stretchy velvet with bizzar sheen that I though would make some interesting Gothic arm warmers with some other fabrics I have in my stash . I like the Sage chiffon and am hoping to use it for some rust over dying . (I certainly do love to experiment ). The pink is actually a bit darker then it's showing on my monitor but is not my particular favorite color . I'm hoping to tone it down with both dyes and nuno felting . It was such a good price and nice quality that I couldn't pass it up . This was also on sale and I hope to make some arm covers for my wet felting . I really don't like the feeling of wet arms while I'm rolling the felt, so hope I can sew up some water proof covers . I thought it might also work for covering my new wet felting machine metal roller .
Yaks are adorable !
Last night I ordered some new fiber to try . Yak sounded so exotic and I just couldn't resist....(my will power to resist fabric and fiber is 0 ). I wanted to see how it felts and how it feels to the touch . It is supposed to be very soft and sure looks a lot like alpaca . It has a very fine micron and staple length is only about an inch . The stuff I ordered is mixed with 50% merino, so should be a little easier to work with but I'm not sure how well it will needle felt . I ordered 12 oz to start with...about all I can afford this month as I have already gone over my craft budget and the month is just starting...oops . I did think it would make a nice gift for my friend "Inventor", my dad and brothers (who are not easy to buy for), and if all works well, I'll try and make some scarfs for my shop .
Looks like more experimenting in my near future . Yippy !
For anyone who comes here to see fuzzy cute things...this is all I've got to share this week . Well, the troll and bracelets are a bit fuzzy and cute.... But, aside from the wet felting experiments , all I did this week was play with colors, shapes and textures ....but what are they ? I guess you could hang them on the Christmas tree or from your key chain . ...or this could be a paper weight if you don't live in a very windy city . ...or you get sick of looking at one side, you can turn it over and it's a whole new sculpture . I felted it very solid from merino and lots of gummy silk, so it also has an interesting texture . ...or if you have a troll you want to have a fancy place to stand..... My BF just sort of shrugs at these creations . He's not as stimulated by shape and color as I am . He wants things to do/be something , so I created this sculpture to be an alien landscape and even put a little alien on it he could play with . but I personally, appreciate it more as just a study in shape, texture and color . I like to touch it and turn it around to see different angles . I'm sure I will be making some more of these as I have several little plastic aliens that will look good here ( for those who must have something "be" something, to enjoy them . ) but I will keep doing my abstract sculptures for those few who like their things to be nothing more then color, shape and texture with out the distraction of having to be anything more .
I included lots of close-ups because I want to show the texture of the items I'm wet felting . I used a few new techniques that I will go into tomorrow but am in a rush to leave for work now, so more tomorrow .
This is my new toy ( that will probably not work for what I am trying but will be fun to try...) Basic info...and how it is used.....My BF said I should also mention that it is NOT me in this video (which I got from Utube)
I just bought this at the local thrift store and thought the slow rolling motion of the cylinder and the heat from the applied metal bar...might work for some nuno or wet felting experiments . I would need to felt anything about 80% before I put it in here, but it might decrease some of the hours of rolling . (huge "might" )
The cylinder was covered by an outer layer of fabric and an internal thick batt of "something" soft, perhaps Flannel . I stripped these off because they smell musty and I probably wont be able to use them as it is almost imposable to get musty smell out of fabric....though I'm sure I will spend hours trying because I hate to throw anything away : )
This is what the cylinder looks like with all fabric and batting stripped off . Obviously in need of a good cleaning and I'm still trying to figure out how to get the hex nut off to remove the cylinder . Of course, I will paint the whole thing and clean up any lint I find on the motor . It does rotate and heats up but I probably wont use it out of eye sight because old electronics can be a fire hazard . Mixing electronics and water isn't usually very smart either but I am going to try and figure out a way to contain the wet felting in something (none melty) before I wrap it around the cylinder .
Below are a few more thrift store items for my crafting . An interesting medicine cabinet for supplies, a water proof table cover with a nonslip material on the back and some of that weird non-slip stuff to keep rugs from moving .
The "plan" is to use the last material for wet felting instead of the bubble wrap . Layer of plastic on top and bottom of non -slip stuff then lay down the roving . Why...? Because I don't like the cost or clean up of bubble wrap . I assumed that it could just be washed and reused but found that some of the bubbles pop while rolling and water and soap get in them that don't seem to want to wash out ....Very frustrating . Wish me luck in my (as usual) messy and slightly dangerous experiments . And his is my favorite cyclops of late . Has some features of many of my favorite things...alien, Neanderthal, cyclops, zombie .
Needle felt math....
About 3oz and 18" of alien landscape
That is one lonely looking alien, so I think I will have to add a friend or two .
This was one of my goals today....Unpack my felted items from the bag I was keeping them in and get them organized for when I have better lighting for taking photos .
I just ordered this lovely fiber from an Etsy seller called Sheepish Creations two days ago and it arrived already ! This is a new seller for me...http://tiny.cc/here267 <---click that to check out her shop : ) and I am very happy with my order .
She also sent me a cute wee sheep to keep me company while I felt . Thanks Pam ! and I haven't weighed it but these bundles sure seem like more then 4 Oz each . Off to needle .
I don't actually like to sew but I do love weird fabrics to play with and this is some interesting netting and stretchy velvet with bizzar sheen that I though would make some interesting Gothic arm warmers with some other fabrics I have in my stash .
I like the Sage chiffon and am hoping to use it for some rust over dying . (I certainly do love to experiment ). The pink is actually a bit darker then it's showing on my monitor but is not my particular favorite color . I'm hoping to tone it down with both dyes and nuno felting . It was such a good price and nice quality that I couldn't pass it up .
This was also on sale and I hope to make some arm covers for my wet felting . I really don't like the feeling of wet arms while I'm rolling the felt, so hope I can sew up some water proof covers . I thought it might also work for covering my new wet felting machine metal roller .
For anyone who comes here to see fuzzy cute things...this is all I've got to share this week .
Well, the troll and bracelets are a bit fuzzy and cute....
But, aside from the wet felting experiments , all I did this week was play with colors, shapes and textures ....but what are they ?
I guess you could hang them on the Christmas tree or from your key chain .
...or this could be a paper weight if you don't live in a very windy city .
...or you get sick of looking at one side, you can turn it over and it's a whole new sculpture . I felted it very solid from merino and lots of gummy silk, so it also has an interesting texture .
...or if you have a troll you want to have a fancy place to stand.....
My BF just sort of shrugs at these creations . He's not as stimulated by shape and color as I am . He wants things to do/be something , so I created this sculpture to be an alien landscape and even put a little alien on it he could play with .
but I personally, appreciate it more as just a study in shape, texture and color . I like to touch it and turn it around to see different angles .
This is my new toy ( that will probably not work for what I am trying but will be fun to try...)
Basic info...and how it is used.....My BF said I should also mention that it is NOT me in this video (which I got from Utube)
I just bought this at the local thrift store and thought the slow rolling motion of the cylinder and the heat from the applied metal bar...might work for some nuno or wet felting experiments . I would need to felt anything about 80% before I put it in here, but it might decrease some of the hours of rolling . (huge "might" )
This is what the cylinder looks like with all fabric and batting stripped off . Obviously in need of a good cleaning and I'm still trying to figure out how to get the hex nut off to remove the cylinder . Of course, I will paint the whole thing and clean up any lint I find on the motor . It does rotate and heats up but I probably wont use it out of eye sight because old electronics can be a fire hazard . Mixing electronics and water isn't usually very smart either but I am going to try and figure out a way to contain the wet felting in something (none melty) before I wrap it around the cylinder .
And his is my favorite cyclops of late . Has some features of many of my favorite things...alien, Neanderthal, cyclops, zombie .
